Pictured: Two women stabbed to death by knifeman in Lisbon

Pictured: Two women stabbed to death by knifeman during rampage at Muslim religious centre in Lisbon

• Mariana Jadaugy, 24, and Farana Sadrudin, 49, were killed in the knife attack 
• Afghan refugee named as Abdul Bashir entered religious centre with knife

The two women stabbed to death by a knifeman who went on a rampage at an Muslim religious centre in Lisbon have been pictured. 

Portuguese nationals Mariana Jadaugy, 24, and Farana Sadrudin, 49, were at the Ismaili Centre when an Afghan refugee named locally as Abdul Bashir entered with a large knife and fatally attacked them after seriously injuring his English teacher.

The father-of-three, whose wife is said to have died around a year ago, was taken to hospital after being shot in the leg by police responding to emergency calls. 

Officers said they fired at him when he ignored orders to drop his weapon and started walking towards them. The knifeman was transported to the São José Hospital, where he is in a serious condition and remains under arrest.

Friends and well-wishers paid tribute today to Mariana and Farana, who both worked at the religious centre.

Portuguese nationals Mariana Jadaugy, 24, (pictured) and Farana Sadrudin, 49, were at the Ismaili Centre when an Afghan refugee named locally as Abdul Bashir entered with a large knife and fatally attacked them after seriously injuring his English teacher

Farana Sadrudin was killed by the knifeman in the attack on the religious centre in Lisbon 

Farana’s friend Gabriela Navalho described her loss as ‘irreparable’, adding: ‘Stay saved in me, your light, smile, our crazy conversations full of laughter. Rest in peace Farana Sadrudin. Strength to all your family and friends.’

Teresa Pinto added in an online tribute to Mariana: ‘How cruel this world can be. Portugal opens its arms to those in need and this is the payback.

‘Mariana Jadaugy, you will always be in my heart as that happy, friendly and generous woman.’

It is not yet clear what the motive for the attack was, but officials said it was an ‘isolated incident’.

The brother of a witness of the attack, which occurred just before 11am on Tuesday, said he had been told the knifeman turned on the victims after they tried to intervene as he stabbed his teacher. The male teacher was seriously injured in the attack.

Omed Taeri, president of the Association of the Afghan Community in Portugal, said the suspect had shown ‘signs of anxiety and desperation’ at his daily struggle to be able to feed his children with the scarce resources he had.

But Portuguese president Marcelo Reblelo de Sousa, speaking after visiting the scene of the fatal double stabbing and speaking to the mother of the younger of the two women killed, said: ‘There is nothing that justifies a criminal act.’

The country’s Prime Minister Antonio Costa said everything pointed to it being an ‘isolated incident.’

The knifeman is now under police guard in Lisbon’s Sao Jose Hospital.

The attack happened at the Ismaili Centre on Tuesday. Pictured: Officers standing outside following the attack

The attacker is an Afghan who had lost his wife ‘in difficult circumstances’ at a refugee camp in Greece before relocating to Portugal with his three children aged four, seven and nine, Portuguese government minister José Luis Carneiro said.

He had arrived in Portugal through a European Union program that transfers asylum-seekers to member countries to help relieve pressure on Mediterranean nations such as Greece and Italy, Carneiro added.

In a statement Rahim Firozali, the president of the National Council of the Muslim Ismaili Community said the armed man ‘attacked three people who were in the Ismaili Centre, killing two of them and wounding a third.’

The Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims, generally known as the Ismailis, belong to the Shia branch of Islam.

Members of the minority group have been attacked by extremist groups in countries such as Pakistan.

The Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims, generally known as the Ismailis, belong to the Shia branch of Islam.

Ismaili Muslims are a culturally diverse community living in more than 25 countries around the world, according to their website.

There are around 7,000 Ismaili Muslims living in Portugal, a nation of around 10 million people.

Portugal hasn’t recorded any significant terror attacks in recent decades, and religious violence is virtually unheard of.

Members of the minority group have however been attacked by extremist groups in countries such as Pakistan.

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